The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-06-08

on the pure word of God, and make them be-
lieve 1t by the fruit of an exemplary life. A
want in your life will be seen in the life OF
your child. If your religious life Is indiffer-
cnt and only professional, the child Will be
Indifferent too.
In short, the absence Of your influence for
good. makes 1t present for evil. The child Is
just what you make 1t, nnd that may be the
result Of Indifference on your part. If your
want OF decided opinion or action against the
whiskey traffic. and against moderate drink
ing, make your son drunkard, you are as
accountable and as responsible as IL you had
been actively opposed to prohibition. We
owe our children more in the form of decided
opinion than We are apt to think at nrst
glance. o, how alarming Is this parental In.
difference, and how awful 1t is In Its two-fold
consequences Some parents tell us they are
not opposed to Sunday school work, nor the
good that work can do, but they never EN-.
bark in the enterprise, They are not In op-
position to family religion, but they never
feed their children on The diet. They do not
object to individual piety-they like to see
everybody plGus. but they never take much
individual stock in the commodity. They as
sent 10 the religious instruction Of the chill
dren, but they prefer others to do the work.
They believe in good religious literature be-
ing kept up In the family and in the Sabbath
school, but they never take religious news.
paper, and they never give one dime toward
meeting SabbaLh school needs.
My brother, let me say once for all, you may
live non-commital, but you must die decided.
Death will bring out the positive phase oil
every mans character The exposure Is In
evitable.
You may not be vicious.y wrong In your
parental teaching, but at the bar Of God in.
difference will anOunt to criminaity.
More trouble lies along this line than along
any other. Greater evil grows out OF this
want Of interest than does out of any posi-
tive stand against the right.
Christ says, "feed my lambs" give them
religious training, and teach them, prOcti-
cdlly. decision OF character, but you are al'
lowing them to famish or to be fed on the
low, grovelling huSk of sin, which always
leads downward. You are accessible to the
food, and in reach OF all the necessary facill-
ties to make your homes ms full or happiness,
and as blooming as primeval Paradise, but
different TO all the interest of home and fire.
side. leaving all TO chance, you may expect
your daughters to grow up vain and heartless,
and your boys 10 drift off into prodigality,
dissipation and ruin.
And then when the work Is done, when the
experiment is over, when your offspring
grow up to sauden your heart, and hasten
you. Il premature, gray-haired sire, To the
yourself. o parents, let me beg, you to be-
come awake TO the interest OF the hour-to
the interest of your children-and the i'm
perishable influences OF your homes. You
can afford to be short-coming In providing
for the bodily wants of your offspring: You
have not committed a criminal offence, If you
die without leaving them u fortune. but oh
If you leave them no religious example, no
precious notices and mementoes 10 cherish
and upon which to feed, no legacy IN the
form of u christian character, then you will
have failed inyour own liie, and will have
left your children poor indeed.
honored name Of an honored sire cannot take
the place Of a defective and an irreligious
education.
My brethren, from this hour let US resolve
to love more, and see after homo religion and
the institutions which protect youth, and
make sanguine our fondest hopes. Make the
children happy but do not indulge them.
Nuke them ornamental but useful; wise, but
cheerful but not vain, obedient but not slav.
Ish, respectful without fear. Train them to
"love God and keep his commandments, for
this Is the whole duty of man, for God shall
secret thing, whether it be good or whether It
be evil"